Harry Potter and the Inquisitor's Game
by defiasstone2
Summary: Harry Potter beat Voldemort but died in the process. In a strange place with options to replay his life in a world of either Light or Dark, Harry makes what seems to be the obvious choice and intends to use this 'Game' to ensure that he never fails his friends again. But there is more to this 'Inquisition' that will rock his beliefs to the core. Gamer Harry mild DA:InquisitionXover
1. Welcome Back to Hell

Harry Potter would love to claim that he was feeling confident as he continued his final battle with Voldemort as the two sides of Light and Dark clashed around them, but as he threw himself to the side in order to avoid another killing curse from the abomination across from him he had to admit he had his doubts. So far every spell Harry had flung in the man's direction had been batted away like flies trying to bullrush a bear, Voldemort had not even moved from his spot since he had first engaged Harry. In comparison, Harry was already sporting several large cuts and wounds from reaching the exterior of Hogwarts, having already felled Fenrir Greyback and Dolohov in the great hall and Courtyard respectively, along with more than a dozen other death eaters.

The only thing keeping him alive at the moment was his Seeker reflexes and the fact that Voldemort hadn't broken out any of his larger area of effect spells, whilst the man was a cut throat tactician and not understanding the meaning of camaraderie, killing off dozens of his own followers to take out Harry was not really conducive to any long term plan he might have of restoring the pureblood powerbase. Even as Harry rolled forwards to avoid another cutting curse aimed at his head a bright red flare spell lit up the sky off to his left, bringing a smirk to his face, Ron and Hermione had managed to deal with Nagini at least so now Voldemort was as mortal as he was.

Harry was under no illusions, even as he remembered back to Dumbledore's offer to 'go back' when he had sacrificed himself in the Forbidden Forest a few hours before, he was not going to survive this final battle and no amount of trick cards were going to change that. He was too weak and without anything approaching the experience and training of the monster in front of him, Dumbledore's mistake in keeping him weak to get rid of the Horcrux from his scar was assuming that he would then be able to somehow defeat Voldemort afterwards. But Harry had a plan for that, all he had to do was get close enough...

Dashing forwards, Harry raised his wand to the sky and fired off his own version of the flare spell, a dark purple almost invisible in the gathering darkness of evening until it burst into various pinks and reds across the sky in the form of a phoenix. It was a predetermined signal to signal all the defenders to fall back to Hogwarts, leaving only transfigured animals and the armoured suits to keep the death eaters and dark creatures busy, but it meant that Harry would not have any of his friends deaths on his conscience into the next great journey.

Out of the darkness flew the Sword of Gryffindor, summoned to his hand by the charms that had been engraved in its handle for more than a millennia. A pair of werewolves tried to block his path to Voldemort, Harry cutting the first one down whilst ducking to avoid the vicious swipe of the second. His sixth sense screamed at him and Harry pulled off a hurried apparition, appearing ten yards to his right as an explosive hex reduced the werewolf and the area he had been stood in to rubble and gore. Voldemort didn't let up, a cascade of spells whirling round Harry as he continued his charge, leaping into the air to cover the last part of the distance with Gryffindor's sword held high to cut Voldemort down.

Unfortunately, whilst aesthetically brilliant for observers, the move left him unable to dodge as Voldemort cast a spell that slammed Harry into the ground with enough force to nearly make Harry blackout. Voldemort started to chuckle as Harry forced himself to his knees.

"I must say Potter, your attempt to finish me was most heroic, foolish and doomed to failure but certainly in line with being Dumbledores little martyr. I wonder if you thought that was actually going to work, I mean a sword? How muggle of you..." Voldemorts words actually brought the smirk back to Harry's face even as he reached down to grab the cord attached to his waist. Voldemort obviously noticed his grin as he lost all signs of confidence and raised his wand once more in an attempt to stop him. But even as the now familiar green light arced towards him, Harry's world was engulfed in pain and light as the 200 pounds of c4 that he had attached to his chest and legs under his robes, all lightened using a featherweight charm, went off with devastating force.

For a moment Harry thought that was it, he had already had his second chance after all, but when he opened his eyes he found himself staring at a screen that made no sense to him at all.

**Game over: You are Dead**

**Would you like to see the post game summary?**

**Yes No**

With no idea what was really going on, Harry decided to go with his instincts and reached up to press the 'Yes' button. In a flash the screen changed into a rolling bank of text and flashing images of people that he knew and some he didn't.

**After the sacrifice of Harry Potter along with the death of the Dark lord Voldemort and dozens of his followers at the final battle of Hogwarts, magical Britain was left reeling from the conflict. The ministry, already in disarray from Voldemort's actions against it before it bowed to him, struggled to retain any form of control as the survivors of the battle of Hogwarts, lead by Hermione and Ron best friends of the Saviour as they took to calling him, rallied up the remaining forces of the light in Britain in order to change how the country was run. **

**It was in effect a revolution of the muggleborns, who had suffered terribly under the short reign of Voldemort and those who followed his ideals. Purebloods who were known to have ties to the Dark were slaughtered in the streets or tried in mob courts before being hung or burned. This hadn't been the aim of the light when they began the move, but by the time they realised what was going on it was too late to stop it, Ron and several other Hogwarts veterans perishing in the riots that occurred at the ministry and in Diagon Alley. **

**The civil war that raged between the purebloods and the 'New Bloods' as they called themselves was only stopped due to the intervention of the ICW, who had to expend considerable resources and manpower in quelling both sides of the conflict, even with the help of Hermione and her reformed Harry's Army, dedicated to restoring peace and tracking down the worst of both sides. **

**Without Harry's influence and skills, the situation in Britain remained tenuous at best even as dark rumours from Asia and Eastern Europe spoke of 3 Dark Lords rising more dangerous than any encountered before. With no champion of the light to oppose him things look grim for the inhabitants of the wizarding world, leaving many to question what would have happened if Harry had survived that fateful night?**

**Parts 1-3 complete: Would you like to see your score?**

**Yes No**

Harry was left reeling at the summary of the 'events' that took place after his death, had his sacrifice meant so little that Wizarding Britain had continued to tear itself apart despite his friends best efforts? Evidently so and that stung, in addition to the obvious hint that he had been meant for more than just fighting Voldemort all along, or at least that is what Harry was taking from the final paragraph. Whilst he was tempted to tap 'No' just to get this farce over with Harry decided to persevere in the hope that there would be the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel and an option would appear to allow him to change things in his future. With a sigh he reached forwards and pressed 'Yes, the size of the words shrinking as a rolling script appeared in front of him.

**Score: Prologue (Ages 1-11):**

**Survived the Prologue: +100 points**

**Failed to discover Heritage before 11th Birthday: -20 points**

**Performed accidental magic (3): +30 points**

**Malnourished: -40 points**

**Total: +70 points.**

**Score: Part 1: (Years 1-4)**

**Year 1:**

**Made friend (Hagrid): +10 Points**

**Familiar gained (Hedwig):+20 Points**

**Made friend (Ron): +0 Points**

**Earned rival (Malfoy): -20 Points**

**Sorting Completed:+10 Points**

**Outflew Malfoy to become seeker: +10 Points**

**Defeated Boss (Troll): +30 Points**

**Made friend (Hermione):+20 Points**

**Life debt earned (Hermione):+100 Points**

**Helped Hagrid with Dragon (Caught): +20 Points**

**Survived Bonus Boss Barely (Quirrelmort in the Forest):+20 Points**

**Solve the mystery of the 3rd Floor (failed):-50 Points**

**Solved puzzles to Philosophers Stone (1/6 completed): +30 Points**

**Defeated Boss (Voldemort Possessed Wizard 1):+100 Points**

**Pass First year exams (Pass): +20 Points**

**Won House Cup: +10 Points**

**Quidditch Cup not won: -10 Points**

**Year 2:**

**Sent Warning for Misuse of Magic at home (Dobby): -30 Points**

**Crashed the Dinner Party: -20 Points**

**Failed to complete Homework for School (2/7):-20 Points**

**Escaped the Dursleys in style: +10 Points**

**Earned Friend (George): +5 Points**

**Earned Friend (Fred): +5 Points**

**Missed the Hogwarts Express:-20 Points**

**Crashed Mr Weasleys Car:-10 Points**

**Used Polyjuice to Spy on Malfoy:+20 Points**

**Had a limb de-boned:-10 Points**

**Survived the Acromantula swarm:+20 Points**

**Solved the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets: +30 Points**

**Beat Bonus Boss (Lockheart): +10 Points**

**Beat Boss (Basilisk) (Poisoned): +60 Points**

**Beat Boss (Voldemort's Diary): +100 Points**

**Life Debt Earned (Ginny):+100 Points**

**Follower Earned (Ginny):+40 Points**

**Made Friend (Dobby):+10 Points**

**Made Friend (Fawkes):+20 Points**

**Earned Rival (Malfoy Senior): +20 Points**

**Horcrux destroyed:+50 Points**

**Pass Second Year exams (Pass):+20 Points**

**Won House Cup:+10 Points**

**Quidditch Cup not won: -10 Points**

**Year 3**

The list for each year got longer and longer and to be honest after seeing how badly he seemed to have done in his fifth year Harry had stopped reading and instead scrolled all the way to the bottom and was glad he had done so, at least his score for part 1 and 2 were positive,

**Prologue Score: +70**

**Part 1 Score (Years 1-4): +1200**

**Part 2 Score (Years 5-6): +340**

**Part 3 Score (Year 7): -1400**

**Total: 210 (Rating: Are you even trying at this game?)**

**Karma: Martyr until the End**

**Extras: Achievements:**

**Defeated Voldemort: +1 Perk point.**

**Wizards are superiARGH! (Defeated a supremacist with weapons he deems inferior): +1 to Muggle science with new Characters.**

**3 Monster Bosses defeated: Monster slayer Perk unlocked**

**Outflew a Dragon: Flying Fighter Perk unlocked**

**Won the Triwizard tournament: +1 attribute point at start up, +10 Hp per level.**

**When in Doubt, use more explosives (Used far too much explosive for desired effect): +1 explosives skill with new characters.**

**Be the Best at Something rather than good at Everything (Come top of your Class in one OWL): +1 skill point in OWL skill.**

**Don't be the Best, be Better (Come top of the Country in one OWL): +10% learning rate with Skills related to OWL class).**

**Perks are available in the character creation section of New Games, Would you like to return to the Main Menu now?**

**Yes No**

Harry didn't even think about it before tapping yes, he could work out what the other information meant later.

**New Game**

**New Game +**

**Load Game (Error, No Files available)**

Well there was no exit button and there seemed to be no saved games for him to use. Disappointing but Harry could live with it. He didn't quite know what the difference between 'New Game' and 'New Game +' was, but given that he had gained some bonuses at the end of the score sheet he assumed the + was related to them and therefore it was more beneficial for him to go for that instead. Pressing it firmly, he was then presented with another screen to select from.

**Available Worlds:**

**World Of Light**

**World Of Grey (Played once- Locked until another Playthrough is completed)**

**World Of Darkness**

**World Of Order (Locked- Secret undiscovered)**

**World Of Chaos **

**Please select the World setting you would like for your new game.**

So the 'World' he had been playing in hadn't been the darkest one, merely the middle of the road? Given how terrible most of the wizards had been once Voldemort had risen Harry didn't want to see what was incorporated in a 'Dark World' or 'Chaos World', meaning that he really had only one option available to him. Pressing the World of Light and then confirming it with a tap of the appearing yes button, Harry found himself presented with another rolling block of text and did his best to memorise it as he realised this was the history of the world that he was about to drop into.

**At the height of the Muggles Second World War, which cost millions of lives and left many more permanently scarred, another secret conflict was taking place on the sidelines between peoples that normal humans refused to believe even existed. The Dark Lord Grindelwald, who had taken over all of continental Europe's Magical domains apart from the occasional isolated stronghold, was against his former friend Dumbledore, who stood to defend those that the Dark lord would target in Britain and the rest of the World. Their fateful battle in Northeast France sent shockwaves round Europe and the rest of the world, damaging the planet wide wards that had been put in place by the sorcerers of Ancient Sumeria and leaving a large area of the region as nothing more than ashes and burnt Earth.**

**These wards were put in place to protect the Earth from the denizens of a pocket dimension created by the Sumerian wizards called the Last Hope. Within this dimension lies the creatures that even the wizarding world think of as myths and legends, the Devious Seelie of Arthurian legend, demons of all manner and strength and the mythical Thunderbirds are but a few of the recorded creatures to have escaped into the real world over the last 4 millennium through various weak points in the shields.**

**Whether the damage was caused by accident; the result of various spells colliding and reacting in a catastrophic cascade of energy; or by the desperate machinations of either side is unknown. And despite the continued debate amongst historians about it, the result is far more important to the future than the cause.**

**With the wizarding world in disarray and nobody appearing able to organise the chaos an ancient order stepped forth from the shadows at the behest of His Holiness the pope. The Inquisition was an order that predated the Roman Empire and only became predominantly Christian in the Dark Ages when pagan demon summoning threatened to destroy the wards that the Order had been created to protect. Presented again with the threat of a pocket dimension collapse that would unleash untold dangers into the world, the Order struck quickly and without hesitation, toppling what remained of Grindelwald's power base in days before restoring the ICW to power under their heavy scrutiny. **

**New laws were passed in every country, certain rituals and spells that could risk further damage to the wards were made illegal and their knowledge locked away or destroyed whilst Inquisition bases were created in each country to maintain order and deal with any 'cracks' between the dimensions that appeared. Such destruction of their heritage as well as the attempts to subvert their traditional beliefs did not go ignored by those affected, pureblood wizards joining with Druids and other pagans in rebellion against the Inquisition, those in Britain lead by a man who styled himself as Lord Voldemort, using the stand against the Inquisition to also further the causes against muggleborns and Muggles in general. **

**Despite their strength from millennium of training techniques and methods, the Inquisition was not strong enough to fight a war on so many fronts effectively, leaving many countries in a state of semi-guerrilla warfare. In Britain, this all changed the night that Lord Voldemort target the family of a young boy as they were thought to be allies of the inquisition. That night would lead to changes that nobody could even imagine, Voldemort perishing at the hands of a 1 year old child who now left as an orphan became a symbol of change in this turbulent world. **

**Placed with a new family and under the watch of the Inquisition's finest, the death of Lord Voldemort gave the Inquisition the opportunity it needed to wrest control of Britain and establish a solid government headed by those that support its interests. At the age of 10, the Child and his family receive a letter ordering them to attend a magical census run by the Inquisition, and this is where the story truly begins...**

**Begin?**

**Yes No**

Definitely not what he expected from a 'Light' world, but he supposed it was all a matter of perspective and it sounded like this 'Inquisition' had things under better control now than Fudge could ever have claimed. As he pressed the yes tab again the blackness around him burst into lights and colours and Harry found himself sat in an office room, decorated with an obvious 'holy' theme in mind given the white marble facades and various pictures of holy warriors fighting demons. He was alone for the moment and he couldn't help but wonder why that was, he was supposed to have come here with his adopted family wasn't he?

Then the door opened and a tall broad shouldered man stepped through, dressed in heavy plate armour covered in glowing runic symbols that Harry was sure Hermione would have loved to look at in great detail. The man was at least 6 foot tall with short cut black hair and well defined features, casting Harry a look of appraisal before speaking in a deep baritone that somewhat reminded Harry of some of the aurors he had met before things went to hell.

"So, you are the Child who defeated the so called 'Lord of Tradition', I must admit I was expecting you to be a little taller." Without giving Harry the opportunity to reply the man took his seat on the opposite side of the ornate desk and opened one of the drawers. "I am Captain Hargrove of the Inquisition's British task force and I am here to complete your first official census testing, couldn't have you with the rest of the magicals in case one of the traditionalists tried to take revenge again." The word 'again' made Harry wonder quite how different this world's history was for him if he had already been targeted at least once for what had happened that night. The man pulled out a thick dossier and an odd looking crystal ball that seemed to have a constellation of stars in it.

"Put your hand on the power crystal and then we can start the questions whilst it takes a reading of your magic potential and health." Not really knowing what was going on, Harry did as he was told, only for everything to grey out and freeze as capital letters appeared over the desk.

**Welcome to Character Creation!**

**A/N:**

**Defias here with another new project that has popped into my head thanks to me reading 'Harry Potter and the Video Game life' by Temairine (If you haven't read this yet I would suggest you do so as that is where I got the premise for this story from). I know what people are going to say and yes this is going to have parts of Dragon Age: Inquisition linked to it, thats just how the writing panned itself out and I am not going to apologise for that in the slightest. **

**The Inquisition is a unique concept for the World of Light game, just as the wards and pocket dimension are, I am not saying there was a similar organisation in Harry's original universe that were just sat doing nothing and watching clouds. This is both to change the world enough that Harry is not going to just ghost through on past knowledge as well as to provide potential enemies and encounters for our erstwhile hero to have over the course of the story.**

**The Inquisition and it's history will be explained further if the story progresses, I want this to be like any video game, where the story not only develops as the plot progresses but sometimes the small details that you can find littered around the place give you a new outlook on things.**

**This is literally a plot bunny for now, I have no real idea of where this story is going and more importantly which bits of which games I am going to go with, so if you like this and want some more, REVIEW! The ideas I get from people in reviews is pretty much how I write at the moment as I have too much else going on to really focus on this otherwise.**


	2. Character Creation and the Tutorial

_Previously on Harry Potter and the Inquisitor's Game:_

_Then the door opened and a tall broad shouldered man stepped through, dressed in heavy plate armour covered in glowing runic symbols that Harry was sure Hermione would have loved to look at in great detail. The man was at least 6 foot tall with short cut black hair and well defined features, casting Harry a look of appraisal before speaking in a deep baritone that somewhat reminded Harry of some of the aurors he had met before things went to hell._

"_So, you are the Child who defeated the so called 'Lord of Tradition', I must admit I was expecting you to be a little taller." Without giving Harry the opportunity to reply the man took his seat on the opposite side of the ornate desk and opened one of the drawers. "I am Captain Hargrove of the Inquisition's British task force and I am here to complete your first official census testing, couldn't have you with the rest of the magicals in case one of the traditionalists tried to take revenge again." The word again made Harry wonder quite how different this world's history was for him if he had already been targeted at least once. The man pulled out a thick dossier and an odd looking crystal ball that seemed to have a constellation of stars in it._

"_Put your hand on the power crystal and then we can start the questions whilst it takes a reading of your magic potential and health." Not really knowing what was going on, Harry did as he was told, only for everything to grey out and freeze as capital letters appeared over the desk._

_**Welcome to Character Creation!**_

Chapter 2: Character Creation and Tutorial

The character creation process, what did that mean? Was this another part of the 'game' that he had to take part in? Harry didn't know but there was no time to question it as the screen changed to one filled with a list of Stats and numbers.

**Attributes: Primary characteristics of your character (3 is average for a Level 1 human child at 10 years old.)**

**Your primary characteristics are in essence the character in their most basic form, influencing your ability to perform activities and actions in the real world. Some characteristics have a direct impact on the character's abilities or health, whilst others are more passive and related to options that can be made available to the character in the course of the adventure.**

**Strength: 3 + -**

**Strength determines your characters physique, high strength means more damage with melee weapons, higher carrying capacity of items in backpack and is a prerequisite for most weapons and armour. Also impacts on a number of skills such as climbing, swimming and challenges related to heavy objects/feats of strength**

**Perception: 3 + -**

**Perception focusses on the characters senses, at high levels of Perception the character can perceive objects that are smaller and further away with much more ease and senses are heightened to pick up the slightest movement or sound, as well as increasing the characters ability to react to new situations and conversations. This gives major bonuses for Awareness, Observation, Search, ranged fighting skills and minor bonuses for other skills such as persuasion.**

**Endurance: 3 + -**

**Endurance relates to the characters stamina and ability to take a hit and keep on moving. High Endurance means higher hp and stamina boosts at level up and base stats as well as contributing to damage resistance, Athletic based skills and magic resistance. Has a minor effect on inventory capacity and is a requirement for some potions and enchantments.**

**Intelligence: 3 + -**

**Intelligence is not just about the characters I.Q but relates to the speed at which the character can comprehend new ideas and data, also contributes to the number of skill points that are gained every level and their learning rate of spells and techniques. Influences the amount of mp gained per level up and base hp.**

**Wisdom: 3 + -**

**Wisdom is the measure of a character's 'sense' both tactically and in terms of avoiding 'foot in mouth situations'. Contributes to skills such as etiquette, negotiation and appraisal and is a prerequisite for some quest/conversation choices. Also influences mp recovery rate.**

**Agility: 3 + -**

**Agility makes you nimbler and more likely to avoid those rather troublesome killing curses, as well as other varieties of life ending problems. Higher agility means that you move faster and have a better chance of dodging attacks, as well as influencing skills such as duelling, Athletic related skills and other skills and feats related to coordination and reflexes.**

**Charisma: 3 + -**

**Charisma is a measure of your characters general social aptitude, higher Charisma values mean that the character has a better chance of being well liked and succeeding in conversation challenges. It also contributes to Speech and social skills and is a prerequisite for some quest/conversation choices.**

**Luck: 3 + -**

**Luck is the attribute of probability and fate, not only does Luck increase the number of skill points randomly by up to half of the total luck stat (rounded down), each Luck point has a small chance of being included beneficially to every skill or attribute challenge and improves your luckiness in general. It also increases the chances of critical strikes in combat and is a requirement for certain feats.**

**Available Points:**

**3 for being Level 1**

**1 for being second game attempt**

**1 from completing the Triwizard Tournament**

**Total: 5 Points to spend.**

Given that nothing seemed to be happening around him in the time Harry had read this rather confusing list of information, Harry had to assume that he had all the time in the world to come to a decision in regards to what he would do. With 5 points and 8 stats he would have to choose which stats to improve carefully. He dismissed the idea of overly specialising in one characteristic straight away, whilst it would give him an almost superhuman boost to things related to that one skill, given the sort of dragon dung his previous life had thrown at him in all its various shapes and types Harry didn't want to leave any of these attribute tests the thing seemed to repeatedly mention to anything that was 'average' for his age.

Endurance was the first attribute to receive a point, in his mind anything that increased his health and damage resistance was a good thing and improved his chances of not dying. Charisma was next, Harry had more than enough of being the public's whipping dog when anything went wrong and if this stat improved his social abilities then if it happened again he might actually be able to do something about it. Also it might help him make friends and allies sooner, which given his probably 'destiny' of fighting Voldemort again meant it probably wasn't a bad idea.

That thought lead to his next two choices, one in wisdom and one in intelligence, having Hermione as a friend had very quickly shown him how knowing more was almost always an advantage on the battlefield and if he still had Hogwarts ahead of him he assumed there would be a lot of things related to learning that he would need to complete. He sat there for some time weighing up where to put his last point and seeing as he didn't know what would be the sort of things he would encounter in the near future and therefore which stat might be the most useful. In the end he decided to add a point to luck as it seemed to be the most versatile stat as it could apply itself to any one of these checks he might face, whatever they were. As he pushed the plus button for luck the screen flashed once more and changed to a short simple sentence.

**Attribute Points allocated; do you wish to continue?**

**Yes No**

Knowing that if he said no he could think about the point's allocation until the end of time, Harry pressed the Yes button before he could change his mind. The Screen then changed to another rolling text with several options attached to it.

**Titles, Backgrounds, Families and Perks:**

**Backgrounds are the possible histories that the character can have relating to the period between Voldemort's attack and character creation. Each background will have bonuses to the characters skills or attributes as well as allowing the character to gain knowledge relating to various things. (Warning, some choices will invalidate some adopted family options on the next screen.)**

**Backgrounds:**

**Inquisition Raised: **

**With one of their most vocal and dangerous opponents falling that fateful night when the Inquisition was stretched to its limit, many of the more faithful members of the Inquisition hierarchy took this as a miracle of God and moved to raise the child responsible so that he could uphold the Inquisitions tenants and protect the Earth from demons and dark lords alike once the character was grown. Some called what they were doing was making a child into a weapon rather than a human being, but there are those that will always argue that the results are sometimes worth the cost.**

**Gives: (+2 End, +1 Strength, -1 Ag, -2 Wis, -20 to conversation challenges with neutral or traditionalist families, increased hostility from Pocket creatures and traditionalist enemies. Invalidates Foster family choice screen.)**

**Traditionalist Raised: **

**Whilst Voldemort opposed the Inquisition, there were many in the traditionalist ranks who thought him as dangerous as the order if not more so. The fact that the self-styled lord fell to a child meant that the child was marked by the fates to be something great, perhaps the leader that the traditionalists needed to unite them against those that would destroy their way of life. As such the child was removed from the wreckage of Voldemort's assault before the Inquisition could muster its forces, raised in the old ways and hidden from the outside world in order not to alert the Inquisition of the child's existence. **

**Gives: (+2 Int, +1 Per, -1 Cha, -1 Wis +5 to magical knowledge (Old ways, Magical History, Rituals), Gain trait [Socially isolated] (-5 to all social interactions related to what is considered common social knowledge, -10 when related to the Inquisition), -5 to all muggle knowledge skills. Invalidates Foster family choice screen.)**

**Foster Family raised (Loving): **

**The child's parents made it clear in their will who was to look after the child and neither side dared to oppose such a wish as it would give the other side the advantage. Thus the child was raised by the families chosen guardian and received a loving and nurturing childhood, though not entirely without danger due to attacks by traditionalists and more radical factions in the still volatile situation, not to mention the constant and often unwanted inquisition presence in his life.**

**Gives:(+1 Int, +1 Charisma, -1 End, +5 to 2 chosen skills, -5 in conversations with both Traditionalists and Inquisition. Foster Family chosen from details about family.)**

**Foster Family raised (Isolated): **

**The child's parent's wishes were invalidated due to events removing any possibility of the chosen guardians being able to look after the child. Therefore the child was raised by a party that was related to either the Inquisition or the Traditionalists, a family that resented the child being forced upon them for political reasons. Therefore the child grew up with the hate of his family rather than love, meaning he had few friends or understanding of love, but the hardness of life with the hatred of those around him has taught several vital lessons that could prove advantageous in the long run.**

**(+2 Ag, +1 Wis, -1 Charisma, -1 End, Foster Family Screen available and more benefits available from there.)**

Harry couldn't help but wonder who the hell had come up with all of this, they certainly had put far too much effort into coming up with different things for him to think about without any help. The last option sounded a lot like his previous childhood at the Dursleys, something he would not inflict upon himself again in a million years, so that was out. Whilst the first two options seemed to give him some powerful bonuses they also seemed to have powerful negatives attached to them, whilst the third option not only offered him the chance at a loving family but also a fairly balanced set of bonuses. Not that it matter particularly to Harry, at this point he almost wanted to just hurry things along so that he could get out of there. Selecting the Foster Family [Loving] Option, Harry almost groaned when the next screen came up.

**Family:**

**The child had to have parents, that much is a given fact of life, the question of who they are though is up to the character.**

**Choose Father:**

**James Potter (+5 Transfiguration, +5 Charm)**

**Sirius Black (+5 Duelling, +5 Charm)**

**Remus Lupin (+1 level physical resistance, Gain trait [Lycan Blood])**

**Peter Pettigrew (+5 sneak, +5 Awareness)**

**Lucius Malfoy (+5 dark arts, +5 Authority)**

**Severus Snape (+5 Duelling, +5 Potions)**

**Rubeus Hagrid (+1 Size modifier, +1 Str, Gain trait [Giant Blood])**

**Albus Dumbledore (Invalid for the World of Light)**

**Grindelwald (Invalid for the World of Light)**

Well this was easy, despite the fact there was the opportunity to have someone else as his dad and then actually meet James Potter, Harry had to admit that given the option of picking a parent to aspire to off that list there was no choice in the matter, he certainly wasn't going to be the spawn of Lucius Malfoy, even if it did mean that he wouldn't have to deal with him again due to Voldemort killing him. Picking James Potter, the words changed and he found himself looking at the list of possible mothers, only for anger to build up inside of him for the first time since the start of this whole affair as he read the first line of options.

**Choose Mother:**

**Lily Evans (Invalid for this play through, character is the wrong age)**

**Narcissa Black (+5 Attractiveness, +5 Authority)**

**Hestia Jones (+5 flying, +5 dodge)**

**Andromeda Black (+5 attractiveness, +5 Willpower)**

**Bellatrix Black (Invalid for the World of Light)**

**Molly Prewitt (+5 Willpower, Gain trait [Prewitt Temper])**

**Alice Copeland (+5 Loyalty, +5 Herbology)**

**Elaine Abbott (+5 Logic, Gain trait [Half blood])**

**Amelia Bones (+5 Duelling, +5 Willpower)**

**Freya Bishop (+5 Holy Magic, +1 lvl magic resistance)**

What did it mean that Lily Evans was invalid?! Harry pressed on her regardless, he wanted to have his mother damn it. A pop up appeared and Harry ignored it for a moment to press the name again, only for the pop up to get a little bigger and light up. Barely restraining his tears of frustration, Harry finally calmed down enough to focus on the message being shown.

**Due to The World of Grey having been played, Lily Evan's character was given a boon for sacrificing herself for her child so selflessly. Her request was the chance to be with her son and whilst this was not possible in the World of Grey, now that the player has restarted the character Lily Evans has now been born so that she will be in the same year as the character, so fulfilling her wish. Unfortunately she will not have her previous memories so whilst knowing she wants to get close to the character due to the conditions of the boon, what happens is up to the characters decision. The Game managers would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause the character.**

Harry felt the anger drain away and instead just sat there stunned for some time. His mother was going to be alive and drawn to him because of a favour the game owed her? Out of all the things she could of asked she just wanted to be with him? Whilst all the people spoke of how wonderful his parents had been, Harry never felt more loved than he did in that moment. Now that he knew why he couldn't pick Lily, Harry reviewed the other options and very quickly removed a lot of them, he didn't want to deny anyone getting born, even Malfoy despite their mutual enmity.

The only name Harry didn't know from that list was the bottom one and he assumed given the skill bonuses offered she was probably with the Inquisition and therefore a World of Light only character. Whilst she was tempting as a choice Harry wondered if that would cause him to be tied to much to the Inquisition for his own good, having read the possible backgrounds Harry was now not sure as to whether he had been right to so quickly believe the Inquisition was in the right, better to play it safe for now until he could find out for himself. Selecting the only other choice that he knew of that wouldn't invalidate one of his classmates or friend's existences, Harry was quick to check the yes button on the following screen.

**You have selected the following parents:**

**James Potter and Hestia Jones**

**Are you sure**

**Yes No**

With the knowledge that he would be meeting his mother in the near future, Harry was too happy to get agitated as another screen appeared in front of him.

**Titles**

**Titles are the result of the character being involved in an epic or fateful event that was significant enough to affect not only the character but the populace involved. Each world will have a specific Title that is fixed to your character that gives you certain benefits/responsibilities and you will have the ability to add to your titles as the game progresses. (Warning: Once chosen a Title cannot be changed, results will be fixed.)**

**Fixed title: Child of Change**

**The defeat of Lord Voldemort by a mere child was important enough to warrant some fame for the child, but the fact that such a defeat came at the time of the truce between the traditionalists and the Inquisition meant that the two sides realised what an opportunity such a public figure could be if the child could be persuaded to support them and their agenda. In addition, the events surrounding the child's first birthday have affected the child both physically and magically, though in what way is uncertain...**

**Gives (+1 Luck, +10 to conversations with both Inquisition and Traditionalist adults, Trait [Mysterious Power], Increased Scrutiny from both sides and chance of assassination attempts.)**

**Other Available Titles:**

**Guardian of the Woods:**

**Near to your family home was an ancient forest home to many mystical and mundane creatures and protected by ancient druidic wards that made it deadly to those who would try and enter it. Despite and partially because of your parent's warnings you managed to avoid them long enough to enter the woods. No one knows what happened inside those forests and the aurors refused to enter, meaning that only the child knows and he hasn't told anyone. Three days later the child emerged on the back of a Royal Stag and the friendship of the forest animals, much to the agitation of the various groups who have since tried to destroy or take over the forest only to find you stood in their way.**

**Gives: (+10 Animal handling skill, Gain Trait [Friend of the Forest] (Animals will not attack you unless provoked unless they pass a difficult willpower test and befriending them is possible regardless of species. Does not affect Magical creatures as much but still reduces hostility.)**

**Friends with the Fey:**

**The Fey are actually creatures from the pocket dimension and generally regarded as one of the most dangerous foes a wizard can face, with very high intelligence and magical arms and armour. The child did not know this however when he came across a wounded Seelie on the outskirts of his family grounds, ignoring its heavy weapons and unfamiliar cursing and taking the Seelie to a safe place and treating it's wounds as best as the child could. The Seelie recovered over the next few days and acknowledged the debt that it owed the child, especially when the child denied seeing it when the Inquisition came to the house. The child refused any gift the Seelie offered, stating that the opportunity to make a new friend was worth the help that he gave it. Impressed with the child's charitable and friendly nature, the Seelie agreed, the bond of friendship formed between them and the Seelie imprinting the child's magic for all the Fey to see.**

**Gives: (+5 Charm, +5 Illusion magic, +5 Pranking, Gain Trait [Fey Bond] (+5 to all conversations and decreased hostility with the Seelie, increased hostility from Demons/Unseelie and -5 to Inquisition that discover the bond.)**

**Voldemort's Horcrux: **

**Though not known to anyone, this is important enough to warrant a Title. Being the Horcrux of Voldemort gives you access to many of the things the dark lord coveted, though of course it comes with an obvious price of having a magical leech attached to your own soul until you can work out a way to remove it.**

**Gives: (+10 Dark Magic, +10 Ritual Magic, +10 Demon Magic, Gain Trait [Parseltongue], Gain Trait [Slytherin's heir], lose 30% mp to Horcrux and increased hostility from light creatures/Fey and Inquisition until Horcrux is destroyed.)**

**Title Spaces Available: 1**

The first two choices were very interesting and Harry could certainly remember situations from his past where reduced hostility with animals would have been useful, The Horcrux choice he discarded straight away, he wasn't going through that shit again regardless of how cool Parseltongue was as an ability. In the end Harry decided upon the Friend of the Fey option, given the description the Seelie were very dangerous and Harry would prefer good relaxations with them, especially if he was going to get involved with the whole wards and dimensions thing at some stage.

Pressing friend of the Fey, Harry didn't even react this time as another screen came up, merely reading the information through to find out the next part of his character.

**Perks:**

**Perks are particular talents or skills that the character has that give certain benefits when selected. There is no limit to the number of perks that a character can have.**

**Monster Slayer: Whether it is due to experience or natural talent, you just seem to know how to hit Monster type enemies where it hurts. (+5% damage, +1% crit chance against Monster enemies.)**

**Flying Fighter: To you, fighting in the air is more natural than fighting on the ground, there is certainly more room for dodging! (+5 Flying, +10 dodge when flying, +5 to attack when in the air.)**

**Natural Born Duelist: To fight is not just a part of the child's life, it is the child's life and joy and something that (+10 Duelling, +5 Dodge.)**

**Magic Sense: The child has always been attuned to magic and is able to sense it around him, making it easier to track his surroundings and find valuable items and artefacts. (Adds [Magic Sense] to the skill list, which can be used to find hidden areas as well as traps and treasures.)**

**Magical Polyglot (Animals) (Requires 2 Perk Points): When intelligent animals make noises to most humans, to you they speak like any normal human, meaning that you are able to converse with them. (Unlocks new conversations and allows for new situation outcomes with animals and lesser magical creatures.)**

**Like a Sponge: The Child absorbs knowledge as fast as he can wherever he can, much to the admiration of his parents and irritation of his peers. (+10% to learning rate of new spells and knowledge, -5 to conversations with children without this skill.)**

**I AM THE GREATEST!: You really want an explanation for this? I thought not (+1 Main Attribute point.)**

**Available Perk points**

**1 for being level 1**

**1 for partial completion of previous play through**

**1 for defeating Voldemort**

**Total Perk points: 3**

Magical polyglot, that sounded even better than Parseltongue without the negative connotations attached to it, though the fact it cost two perk points meant that he would only be able to pick one other perk at this point. It was worth it though as it would mean that him picking 'Friend of the Fey' would not lose him all opportunities to talk with animals, something that he had no doubt would be useful in the long run. Selecting Magical Polyglot, Harry then did his best to look through the rest of the list and narrow down his last choice before he probably got to these skills, all of which would most certainly be useful in the long run.

Whilst he wanted to select monster slayer based on his past experience Harry couldn't help but get the niggling feeling that Magic sense would be as useful in a wider range of circumstances, it's not like he would be facing Monsters at age ten right? Harry almost slapped himself the moment after he thought that, knowing he had in effect cursed himself with those words. Despite that Harry felt that he could probably deal with anything that came his way before he got another chance to pick a perk and the number of times he had been caught unaware by magical items and traps meant that he wasn't going to refuse the chance to be able to sense them out.

**You have Chosen:**

**Magical Sense**

**Magical Polyglot (Animals)**

**Do you wish to continue?**

**Yes No**

Tapping yes Harry was unsurprised when he then saw a 'Skills' page come up, hopefully this was one of the last screens otherwise he was going to be really pissed off when this was done.

**Skills:**

**These skills represent the characters aptitude towards life skills, areas of magic and other things or in other cases, such as attractiveness how good the character is at using his natural abilities against others. Having points towards different skills will improve the characters ability to learn and adapt knowledge related to their field. Most abilities and spells will have skill requirements before you can use them effectively and some abilities and spells will be impossible for you to use before their skill requirements are met or exceeded. (Warning, high skill levels do not necessarily relate to more powerful attacks and techniques, they instead relate to the rate at which the character will improve his rate of learning. Also new skills will become available as the character unlocks them.)**

**Skills- Physical**

**Jumping 2 + -**

**Running 3 + -**

**Sprinting 2 + -**

**Dodge 2 + -**

**Unarmed combat 1 + -**

**Improvised Weapon Combat 0 + -**

**Melee Weapons (One hand) 0 + -**

**Melee Weapons (Two hands) 0 + -**

**Ranged Weapons (Thrown) 0 + -**

**Ranged Weapons (Other) 0 + -**

**Duelling (Physical) 2 + -**

**Dual wielding 0 + -**

**Flying 5 + -**

**Skills-Magical (Locked until Enrollment complete)**

**Illusion Magic 5 + -**

**Transfiguration Magic 0 + -**

**Charms Magic 0 + -**

**Holy Magic 3 + -**

**Demon Magic 0 + -**

**Ritual Magic 0 + -**

**Blood Magic 0 + -**

**Black Magic 1 + -**

**Fey Magic 2 + -**

**Healing Magic 0 + -**

**Potions 2 + -**

**Alchemy 0 + -**

**Battle Magic 0 + -**

**Destruction Magic 0 + -**

**Enchanting 0 + -**

**Arithmancy 0 + -**

**Runes (Knowledge) 0 + -**

**Magical Items (Wand) 1 + -**

**Magical Items (Staffs) 0 + -**

**Magical Items (Other) 3 + -**

**Skills-Other**

**Awareness 5 + -**

**Pickpocketing 0 + -**

**Stealth 2 + -**

**Cooking 2 + -**

**Crafting 1 + -**

**Searching 3 + -**

**Hiding 1 + -**

**Trap making 1 + -**

**Pranking 7 + -**

**Tracking 1 + -**

**Tutoring 1 + -**

**Intimidate 0 + -**

**Charm 7 + -**

**Muggle Science (Explosives) 1 + -**

**Muggle Knowledge (Common) 1 + -**

**Muggle Knowledge (Science) 3 + -**

**Muggle Knowledge (History) 2 + -**

**Wizarding Knowledge (Common) 8 + -**

**Wizarding Knowledge (Creatures) 9 + -**

**Wizarding Knowledge (History) 7 + -**

**Wizarding Knowledge (Social) 7 + -**

**Wizarding Knowledge (Rituals) 3 + -**

**Wizarding Knowledge (Mystical) 3 + -**

**Etiquette 3 + -**

**Magic Sense 1 + -**

**Logic 5 + -**

**Authority 2 + -**

**Willpower 8 + -**

**Attractiveness 1 + -**

**Available points: 15**

**Would you like to continue? (Unassigned Points can be delegated at any time)**

**Yes No**

Okay, Harry had no idea what to assign points to for this, the number of choices were boggling and given that he could supposedly assign them later Harry decided he could do it on a 'when it is required' basis. Or that was the plan anyways.

**For Character Appearance, would the Character like to import previous characters face or create a new appearance?**

**Yes No**

An easy question, this stupid game thing would certainly be more straightforward if he was looking back at himself in the mirror each morning. Pressing yes the screen changed to a smaller version of himself but obviously better fed and treated by his build and posture, with a list of stats down the side of the page

**Character Creation Complete: Game can now commence**

**Would you like to complete the tutorial?**

**Yes No**

Another no brainer, anything that might help him better understand what was going on was a good thing. Pressing the yes key once more the world suddenly returned to colour and Captain Hargrove started speaking once more as he noted things down on a clipboard.

"Harry Potter, son of Hestia Jones and James Potter, age 10 years and birthdate the 31st of July. Adopted Parents of Sirius Black and Freya Bishop Nee Black. Strong Magical core for age, healthy readings for both magic and physique. Now to move onto questions..." Hargrove paused as there was suddenly a loud bang in the distance and the building shook slightly. There was a moments silence before shouting and screams could be heard in the distance, causing Hargrove to jump to his feet and grab his sword from where it was hung on the wall, blade glowing and emitting a soft hum as he removed it from it's bracket.

"I must go and check on the disturbance Mr Potter, stay here and if you hear someone coming, hide. I will have someone come and fetch you as soon as I can." Without waiting for a response Hargrove opened the door and hurried out, slamming it shut behind him and leaving Harry alone once more. Predictably a screen popped up the moment he did so and Harry read the information as quickly as he could.

**Welcome to the tutorial, where the events of your census have been disrupted under strange and possibly dangerous circumstances, so as such you must go and investigate! But before you do that you probably want to have some equipment and this is your first quest, search the room you are in for useful items. To activate the search skill which will highlight possible item containers either think or say 'search' and the skill will activate. What the skill reveals is dependent on the skill value and your Perception as well as equipment and item bonuses.**

Well that was easy enough, Harry thought as he the room suddenly lit up with several items that were covered in some kind of glittery glow, and he assumed this was related to the search. As he moved round the desk, as two of the drawers in the desk had lit up, Harry suddenly remembered that this was an Inquisition captain's room and therefore not exactly unguarded against those that might go snooping around in it. Being a little more cautious now Harry tried to do the same thing he had done with search with Magic sense and wasn't disappointed when the world changed to an array of dark colours apart from several light spots in the shape of various items around the room.

It seemed there were no magical traps that Harry could see so he quickly opened the first drawer in front of him, finding another screen pop up with what was in the drawer and another message in front of it.

**Welcome to your first completed search tab, which is what pops up when you search an area highlighted by using Search. This function saves you the time of having to actually search locations and instead lists the items inside that the game thinks will be useful to you (ignoring things that are considered of no value such as pieces of paper, chewed chewing gum and dog poo for example). Though the search tab will not tell you whether things are valuable or enchanted unless obviously so (Glowing Diamond ring), this is determined either by the user using skills such as magic sense or by a vendor. Note that some magical items will deliberately be designed to minimise their magical output to avoid detection.**

There was only a couple of knuts and something called a missive, shrugging at the minor let down Harry pressed the take all button, the tab disappearing before another screen appeared.

**New Codex unlocked 'Missive to Captain Hargrove': 50 xp gained.**

**Mission: Search the Room **

**Main mission: Search areas of the room (1/3)**

**Bonus Mission: Search all areas of the room**

**Bonus Mission: Avoid/disable the trap (0/1)**

**To check your missions as well as any codex updates that you have received, use the journal tab of your character book.**

Character book, what Character... Suddenly there was a weight on his right thigh and looking down he saw a small A6 book strapped by a harness to his leg. Reaching down to grab it he touched it and a large menu screen opened in front of him, with tabs for his character, abilities, inventory and journal. Tapping the Journal page, Harry found the codex sub tab, which only had one entry in it for the moment.

**Captain,**

**I know we are meant to be testing the Potter boy as part of the census, but Intel is screaming at us that the radicals will be waiting for him, are you sure it wouldn't just be easier to test him at home? We know that some of the Lord of Tradition's followers have tried to end the Child's life before, the loss of three of our protection detail in the last attempt should say more than enough. But if you are determined to follow this through despite Lady Nightingale's warnings, you are responsible for anything that happens, either to the boy or the others. **

**I warn you now sir, Former Commander Bishop hasn't gotten any less scary, perhaps that will persuade you if nothing else.**

**Troop Commander Wayde**

Harry's eye quirked at the information he had just gotten, so Captain Hargrove had known that there might be an attack because of Harry being here and he had decided to go ahead with it anyway? The man either was hugely overconfident or he had been hoping to draw some of the Inquisition's enemies from the shadows and deal with them. And his Foster Mother was not only an ex member of the Inquisition but one that still scared the present members? Harry already was dreading meeting her and seeing what she would do with this information.

Closing the Menu tab Harry quickly began searching the rest of the room, finding some more money, two minor healing potions (which the game promised him were better tasting and faster acting than those he had experienced in the World of Grey) and several items that he assumed were meant to be equippable, though most required a strength of 5 or above to use. The trap had been on the cupboard at the back of the room, a simple magical alarm system that the game quickly talked him through disarming using his magic, netting him another 10 xp. However, despite having the pop up telling him that he had searched all the sections of the room, his magic sense was still showing that one of the cloaks by the door was magical and this hadn't shown up on his search.

This made him wonder whether it was meant to be something he wasn't meant to try and obtain, or whether it had simply been beyond his search level and therefore hadn't turned up. Deciding that it wouldn't hurt too much to try, Harry approached the cloak and touched it lightly, another screen coming up a moment later

**Secret Found: Captain Hargrove's Lucky Cloak +50 xp**

**This rather worn and repaired cloak is at odds with the rest of the Captain's immaculate and up to date gear, but the Captain refuses to turn the gear in for another standard cloak regardless. The cloak is the one he first wore as an Inquisition Initiate and has been with him through everything, many of the more suspicious members of the Inquisition claiming that the cloak is the man's lucky charm. Perhaps this luck can be given to anyone who wears it, or it might bring the wearer to an untimely end...**

**Well Done, you have found your first secret, either using your skills and knowledge or by sheer dumb luck. Such Secrets often yield high value treasures or powerful monsters, or both! An Enchanted item can either provide positive or negative bonuses and only once the player has learnt the Identify spell can the player tell which, though he can still equip unidentified items without knowing their properties if he meets their requirements. **

**For this tutorial however, the cloak shall act as if it has already been identified. **

**Captain's Lucky Cloak:**

**2 Defence to the Body (Back)**

**30/30 Durability**

**+1 Luck**

An additional luck from a simple cloak? Harry grinned like Christmas had come early, quickly opening the menu and equipping the cloak, surprised that the cloak shrunk to fit him from it's rather monstrous size before. With nothing else in the room jumping out at him, Harry decided to head for the door, at least if he got a look at whatever trouble was coming his way, a 'Quest complete' tab appearing as he grasped the door handle. Opening it Harry found himself in a large corridor that stretched off for about thirty feet in either direction before ending in what looked like T-Junctions.

The sounds of fighting and shouting was all around him now, but it sounded closest off to his left and Harry decided that was where he would go first. Running down the corridor, Harry saw a suit of armour lying on the floor, cleaved in two at the waist and sword broken at its feet. The dagger lying off to the side though looked in perfect condition and lacking any other form of Weaponry Harry grabbed it and picked it up in both hands, despite its small size it was still heavy for him as a ten year old.

A girl's scream caused him to speed to the T-junction, only to see an opened door off to the other side of the adjoining corridor, probably leading into an office like the one he had been in. The scream rang out again and Harry rushed into the room, only to find the world freezing around him again as he spotted another armoured suit standing over a body and raising a sword at a girl in the corner of the room.

**Welcome to the combat tutorial!**

**A/N: Merry Christmas Everybody! The tutorial has begun and already Harry is fighting for his life. Who is the girl? Will Harry save her? Is there most sinister plotting at work by the newly introduced Captain Hargrove? We shall just have to find out next time. Please review and tell me what you think everyone, happy holidays!**

**Defias**


	3. Welcome to Combat!

**Welcome to the combat tutorial!**

**You have encountered your first enemy and the first opportunity to engage in combat. The enemy in this case hasn't yet noticed your presence, allowing for several actions that are not available in normal combat. The first of these is the 'Observe' skill, which can be used when not in direct conflict to glean information about other characters, enemies and objects based on your Intelligence, observe skill and other knowledge that you have picked up. Try this now in the same way you utilised the 'search' skill.**

Whilst Harry would normally have preferred to simply rush in and try and save the girl, he was keeping such heroism under wraps for the moment as he was determined to learn everything he could about this game and it's mechanisms in order to be able to utilise it better later. With a thought Harry suddenly found himself focussed on the armour and a few paragraphs of information appeared next to it for him to read.

**Unseelie Automaton- level 1**

**Hp-?**

**Mp- 0**

**Basic information-**

**In their constant wars with their lighter cousins the Seelie, the Unseelie have developed several methods of imprinting their magic into objects they find, granting a limited form of sentience as well as a tool of war. Such easily creatable and expendable warriors are usually found at the forefront of Unseelie warbands, ranging widely in power, shape and materials of construction.**

**Additional information-**

**(Observed from Automaton corpse) Physical damage can disrupt the imprinted magic if it great enough.**

**To find out more information, battle more enemies of the same time, research them in books of knowledge or utilise other skills to glean more pieces of information.**

Other skills? Given that there were only two other skills that Harry currently knew he possessed and that Search was very unlikely to be useful here, he activated 'Magic Sense', causing the Automaton to shift to an ethereal image. There was a small amount of dark greyish magic spread throughout the automatons structure, all flowing from a central point on the Automatons back that glowed far more brightly than the rest of the magic. With a light bing another piece of information appeared at the bottom of the information.

**(Observed from Automaton using Magic Sense) the imprinting point of an automaton is focussed in a particular point on an automaton's body, making that point the magical foci and a possible weakness.**

The point being a weakness made sense to Harry as disrupting the magic there would probably collapse the rest of the magic in the automaton. There was another pop up a moment later as he felt a slight drain on his magic.

**Magical Observation combination skill unlocked. -5 mp/min. Warning, combining different skills together at the same time can be draining to the character, either in terms of magic or health and in extreme cases both. So only utilise such combinations when necessary to avoid unnecessary loss of hp and mp. In addition, the cost of using such skills in combat is greatly increased due to the additional stress.**

**Now that you have observed the monster, combat can begin after closing the observation tab. To complete the tutorial, defeat the Automaton.**

**New quest- Defeat the Automaton**

**Bonus objective- save the girl from being killed.**

Armed with his dagger and knowing the automaton's weak point, Harry felt confident as he closed the observation tab, sprinting forwards even as the world jumped into life once more. Luckily the automaton was quite slow moving as it raised its weapon, the double handed sword just getting over its head to begin its downward swing when Harry struck, both hands driving the dagger as hard as he could into the lightly glowing section on its back that had remained glowing even after he had closed the observation tab.

**Target unaware- automatic hit**

**Weak point hit- automatic critical hit.**

**Backstabbing- 1.1 x damage**

-37 hp popped up next to the automaton even as the dagger pierced the suit and the thing froze in place. Unsure whether or not he had actually killed the thing or just stunned it, the game had been unhelpful on that point in regards to giving him exp or any other obvious sign, Harry quickly shouted to the girl who was still frozen in fear.

"Move, quickly!" Eyes still fixed on the frozen Automaton Harry heard the girl start to move, and he decided to be safe rather than sorry and stab the thing again just to be sure. The dagger pinged off the armour this time but the automaton buckled under the momentum, whatever magic that had been holding the thing together failing entirely, the armour collapsing in a pile and Harry having to dodge as the two handed sword bounced off the things helmet in his direction.

**Unseelie Automaton lvl 1 defeated- 13xp**

**Additional information about Automaton's unlocked in the observation tab.**

**Bonus mission- save the girl complete: life debt (Hermione) available**

**Achievements unlocked-**

**We are the Knights who get stabbed in the SPLEEN! (Defeat a heavily armoured opponent with just backstabbing moves.):**

**+50 xp, +2 armour penetration when backstabbing.**

**I was a ninja until I took an arrow to the knee. (Defeat an enemy in one attack using their weak point.)**

**+50 xp, +2 damage when targeting weak points.**

**If unsure, stab until entirely certain. If still not sure... Use fire! (Attack an already dead enemy.)**

**+50 xp, +1 logic**

The bonus reward pre-empted Harry's realisation of who he had in fact just rescued, brown bushy hair enveloping a face that whilst much more childlike was one that he had missed greatly in the time since his 'death'. The younger Hermione was looking at the automaton in shock even as Harry activated his menu, going to the skill screen and adding 3 points to the one handed weapons skill, magic sense and searching. Whilst he knew he would need some other skills later, for the moment having these three skills boosted a bit further would be the best use of his points in Harry's opinion. Harry noticed there was a new tab on his journal titled active Skills and tapping on it he found a new list of information.

**The active skills page lists the skills that the character has developed throughout the game and their level. Higher levelled skills gain bonuses to improve the skills effects or reduce the skills costs and are levelled through persistent and varied use. For example the cooking skill will improve rapidly if the character cooks regularly, but exp gains will drop off rapidly if the same meal is repeated again and again. In addition, active skills are different from normal skills in the sense that can only be activated for a short time/have a cost associated with them, whereas skills are general passive stats that help with associated areas.**

**Observe: lvl 1 (3%) - Allows the player to closely observe other characters, enemies and objects in order to glean more information about them. Can be combined with other skills to form Skill Combinations for various effects.**

**Search: level 1 (7%) - allows the player to identify areas that may contain interesting items in the surrounding areas. Can be combined with other skills to form Skill Combinations for various effects.**

**Magic Sense: level 1 (7%) - Allows the player to identify objects and items imbued with magic or enchantments as well as magical traps and illusions. Can be combined with other skills to form skill combinations for various effects.**

**Magical Observation: level 1 (1%)- Combining Magic Sense and Observe skills together allow the character to glean information of the mystical variety from those the player focuses on. 5 mp/min cost.**

**Magical Search: level 1 (1%)- combining magic sense and search skills together allow for the player to find magical hidden areas and items that would not appear during a normal search. 5 mp/min cost.**

**Focused Search: level 1 (0%) - combining Observe with Search will reveal hidden areas that would not appear during normal searches. Also can reveal hidden items in search areas that would otherwise not be revealed. 5mp/min cost.**

**Focused Magical Search: level 1 (0%)- Combining Observe with Search and Magic Sense allows the player to undergo a thorough search of the nearby area, revealing magical and mundane secrets that would not be found during a normal search. However, the cost of such a powerful skill is not without its costs. 5mp/sec cost.**

**Basic attack (one handed short blade): Level 1 (0%) - The basic attack is used whenever a special skill is not utilised when attacking an enemy. As it is levelled special skills will be unlocked depending on the weapons favoured by the character.**

Closing the menu and resolving to think more on all of this later, Harry offered his hand to Hermione, the girl still on the floor having shuffled away from where the automaton was going to strike.

"Are you okay? I am glad that I got here in time, whatever that thing was definitely means there is something wrong here." Hermione grasped his hand and pulled herself up, though she was still visibly shaking from the near death shock she had just received.

"H-Hermione Granger, and I am okay, thanks to you. I was just here for the census that these magic people hold, the man who was meant to be testing me left when the explosion happened and then the shouting started..." As Hermione shuddered Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly and pointed to the door.

"Don't worry Hermione, I will make sure nothing happens to you and get us out of here. We should probably head back to the main room, which is probably where the adults are, do you remember how to get there?" Hermione nodded a little unsurely and after another couple moments steadying herself she moved towards the door, making no effort to remove Harry's hand as she did so.

**Relationship improved (Hermione): +50 **

**Relationship level improved (Hermione): New Friend (60/200)**

**You have developed a relationship with one of the characters in the game. Depending on how you act with people around you and your actions their opinion of you and therefore their relationship level with you will change. Having a positive relationship score with someone does not mean that they like you, nor does a negative relationship score with someone mean they are an enemy, just that they agree or disagree with your ideals and methods.**

**For example, if you started performing dark rituals and denounced the Inquisition, your relationship with Lord Voldemort would improve to positive (unless you have undertaken major actions against him that will affect this) as he respects you throwing off the shackles of the Inquisition. He will still be bent on killing you of course, but he will be more reluctant about it at least. In the same way, one of your closest allies will gain a negative relationship status with you if you consistently go against/ignore their views and ideas, but if you make an effort to maintain your trust in them they will become a rival rather than an enemy. **

**Achieving and maintaining high levels of relations (either positive or negative) with key characters/groups will give you bonuses or effects that will affect public perception, abilities or even your major statistics, so make sure to take advantage of opportunities to influence people one way or another.**

Harry hadn't let them leave immediately, determined to take the utmost advantage of the tutorial to improve his skills or gain items that could prove useful to him. A quick magical search had revealed several areas that he could search in the room as well as two magical items, which he made a beeline for as they would be the most useful. One was a pendant hanging from a chain and Harry resisted the urge to put it on as something about the way it appeared on his magic sense made him a little wary. The other however appeared to be identified even as he touched it, the statistics for it appearing even as it went to his inventory.

"**A thick and heavily carved piece of wood that could easily double as a stake if required, rather than radiate magical energy it draws it in from the surroundings, creating almost a void to those with the sight for such things. When wielded, it gives off a feeling of power to those that carry it into battle while becoming useless to those who retreat or do not engage in direct warfare. For just as Mage wands choose the wizards that wield them, battle wands are for only those who are ready for conflict."**

**Battle Wand (Level 1): A creation by the Inquisition in the aftermath of the Weakening, the Battle Wands act like the normal wand a wizard would use, only that they are heavily enchanted with runes and spells, drawing magic from their surroundings rather than from their wielder. This allows even non-magic users to be able to combat the enemies from the pocket dimension that are difficult to damage by physical means. The battle wand can also be 'boosted' by a magic user to massively increase its damage potential, but they are limited to one specific spell with a recharge time, therefore are limited in their flexibility compared to normal wands.**

**Level 1 Magical Wand: 5-7 magical damage per shot, ignores non-magical armour and can cause knockback on small/medium opponents. (Channelling magic into the wand before use boosts damage, consuming 3% of the characters magic per shot and adding damage based on mp used, Wand material and level as well as characters Magical skills.)**

The wand was definitely going to be useful, given that it meant he would be reliant on his dagger anymore and could target possible enemies at range. The other search locations merely gave Harry several more Sickles and Knuts along with various materials that he didn't think would be useful but he might be able to sell. Hermione had kept a worried eye on the door as he finally knelt down next to the automaton and picked up one of the shattered pieces of its armour that had made up its imprinting point, as it still glowed slightly under his Magical Sight.

"**The metal is cold to touch but there is a strange almost electrical feeling to it, as if there is something inside it that wishes to escape from it and into those foolish enough to touch it."**

**Unseelie Enchanted Steel (3) found: Throughout the game you will find various materials and items that can be utilised in various ways, depending on character skills and which characters the character approaches about them. **

There was another shake through the floor as Harry stood from the automaton made quick progress through the labyrinth like corridors of the Inquisition Headquarters, Hermione's confidence slowly returning as she lead him past more signs of fighting and corpses of both sides, though she was still clearly horrified and in shock with what was happening. The sounds of fighting ahead caused them both to freeze, Harry moving them rather forcefully to the side of the corridor and into an enchanted window space as he heard the sounds of approaching footsteps over the sounds of combat.

It was a tight fit and Harry had to hold Hermione very close as he closed the curtains that had been put either side of the small alcove, but they at least were not obviously hidden behind the curtains in case whoever was approaching was hostile. He felt their arrival in the vicinity as a coldness fell upon the air and the temperature dropped rapidly. Peering through the tiny gap the rapid closing of the curtains had left, Harry could see the pair of creatures as the stopped shortly after the curtain, looking down at the corpses of two automatons. Encased in black armour that almost seemed to be made of glass as opposed to metal, the two creatures moving with almost an ethereal grace despite the giant swords that they wielded in each hand, unfamiliar memories flooding into Harry's mind as he recognised them to be Fey like the one he had rescued in 'his youth'.

But unlike his memories that showed him a proud but noble creature that reminded him of the tales about High elves and a magic that captivated Harry's young magical senses with its twisting and complex beauty, these creatures magic were as cold as the air that now surrounded him and far different than the one he had saved. As one of the Fey turned to speak to the other, Harry was shocked at the pale face that he saw, it was almost like Luna's with the high cheekbones and pale white but not unhealthy looking skin. It spoke in grating tones that Harry did not understand, but the other Fey replied in English as Harry cast an observe on the pair of them.

**Unseelie Winterborn Warrior caste (Level?)**

**Hp-?**

**Mp-?**

**Very distant relatives of the Seelie courts from olden times, the Unseelie are similar to their cousins in their penchant for pranks and tricks. Unlike the Seelie though whose tricks are benign in nature and aimed usually for their own amusement, the Unseelie are more vindictive in their efforts, delighting in discomfort and injury that their acts cause. The Unseelie are much stronger than humans physically and their magic users are very powerful, usually in the arts of illusions and curses.**

"You know that I could not use a stronger imprinting process on these creations brother, the Queen forbid us from causing too much of an incident with our arrival here, we do not want the Inquisition to think there is more to this then there seems to be. And besides, they are made from Steel, I don't see you getting any closer to them. Now, enough arguing, we have to disappear now if we are to complete our instructions to prepare for he... Do you hear that?" Hermione had managed to get a look out at the Unseelie and drawn a sharp breath at the sight, causing the Unseelie to jerk his head up the corridor towards them...

**Attribute tests: **

**Over the course of the game there will be many trials and challenges that the player must face in order to triumph. The game masters have tried to make things easier for the character and will therefore not show all of the tests that will be run that would be detrimental to the player, such as to hit mechanics as well as things like general athletics and terrain tests. To the player combat and movement should hopefully for the most part seem like real life, only with hp indicators and damage to keep the player appraised of the general situation. **

**For Important tests there are several different methods of calculating success/failure, some tests such as this one being a straight test against one of the characters main stats, if the player has over the required level the test is passed.**

**Luck Test: 4 required = SUCCESS! (6)**

**If the primary test fails the situation then usually allows for one or more other checks to either reverse or mitigate the failure of the first test, usually by testing against related secondary checks such as stealth or athletics. These tests then have positives and negatives given dependent on the situation as well as other factors such as the addition of luck bonuses and a random +/- modifier that is randomly generated for each test. **

**More will be explained about these tests when you encounter one in game.**

"It was nothing. Now come, time grows short." Harry managed to wait until the pair of warriors moved away from them before releasing the breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. But the thing that the second warrior had said, it sounded like there was more going on here than just a traditionalist attack on an Inquisitorial stronghold or even an attempt against Harry, or maybe the creatures in the pocket dimension actually had plans of their own and this was yet another thing for Harry to investigate.

**Secret Quest unlocked: The Unseelie plan (part 1)**

**Either by luck or logical investigation, the character has discovered that above the plots of the Inquisition or the traditionalists, the fickle and devious Unseelie have plans of their own. Whether these plans are dangerous to the hero is questionable, but given the intelligence and strategic planning of the Fey as a race such actions will be wide reaching to say the least...**

**Quest objectives-**

**-Discover more about Unseelie attacks to try and learn more about their movements.**

**-Learn more about the Unseelie as a race.**

**Bonus objectives-**

**- Learn more of this Unseelie Queen.**

**- Complete the Unseelie basic bestiary page.**

**Achievement Unlocked: Keep it Secret... (Unlock a Secret Quest without cheats)**

**+100 xp**

**Achievement Unlocked- The Walls Have Ears (Overhear information about a secret quest without those involved knowing you are present.)**

**+50 xp**

**+1 stealth**

**+1 awareness**

"What were those things? And what did they mean their arrival? Does that mean they are the ones behind the attack?" Hermione still had his arm in a death grip as she whispered her questions, her curiosity and desire for knowledge unaffected by something as insignificant as a brush with certain death if the Unseelie had actually decided to investigate the noise she had made. Shrugging as he didn't want to reveal any of the game information at this point until he had legitimate opportunity to find out such information from elsewhere, Harry pointed down the corridor the warriors had come from.

"I think we can figure that out when we are safe with the adults Hermione, for now let's just concentrate on that. Now can you hear that?" It sounded like someone crying down the corridor the Winterborn had walked from and when Hermione nodded Harry did another quick visual check to make sure he hadn't missed anything in the corridor before deciding on the next plan of action.

"I will go check on whoever is crying, they might need our help. I want you to stay here and I will either call you up or come back and get you. If I run into trouble I will lead them away so that you can get past to the main hall, okay?" Hermione looked like she wanted to argue for a moment before finally nodding and letting go of his arm, though given her stubbornness and courage he had encountered in his Hermione, Harry wondered whether she would actually do as he asked. Stepping out slowly Harry made his way down the corridor, shifting from alcove to alcove in case something decided to come towards him, the crying coming from one of the storage rooms off to one side of the corridor.

Opening the door slowly Harry was surprised to see half a dozen automaton corpse spread throughout the room, looking like they had been torn apart by a being of great strength. At the back of the room, badly hidden by some boxed files, was another girl whose cries had been the ones he had heard with Hermione. She was clutching her right arm gingerly and it was clear that it was broken even as Harry entered the room, speaking up so as not to shock her with his appearance.

"Hello, are you alright in there?" Her reaction was not what he expected, jumping a little and crying out with shock before her eyes fixed on him and she backed up on the floor slightly with a fearful expression.

"Please, don't hurt me, I am no threat I promise..." Harry frowned, why would he hurt her and more importantly, why did SHE think he might?

"I am not here to hurt you I promise, I just want to help. You look injured..." Harry tagged a whispered observe onto the end of his sentence, something about the girl just made him think that there was more to this than he understood.

**Werekin Youngling (Level 2)**

**hp: ?**

**mp:?**

"**When we came across the remnants of the raiding party that had escaped the initial ambush, three of my bannermen lost their stomachs as they looked upon the slaughter. A young boy, who could not have been more than 10 years, was sat amongst the dismembered bodies of those that had probably attacked him, caked in blood that cast a stark relief in the snow around him but otherwise unharmed. The boy looked innocent enough and without proof of witch craft I refused to let my men try and hang him for the crime, as much for their own sake as the boy's. There was something about his eyes, glowing in the low reflection of the main fire that night, that made me realise that such efforts would have probably ended my men the same way as those raiders…"**

**Werekin are a mystery to the magical community, are they animals who can become humans or humans that have gained true shapeshifting abilities beyond that manageable by Metamorphs? What is known is that the Werekin are highly dangerous when they emerge from beyond the wards and are usually hostile to everything, especially those who threaten their young.**

Even as Harry realised that the girl in front of him was not a normal human but in fact a pocket denizen, she jumped to her feet with a wide eyed expression even as the hair on the back of Harry's neck rose. He knew he should turn around, in fact he knew that if he didn't then the chances of making it out of this room were effectively zero, but Harry still wished he could pretend that he didn't hear the laboured growling from the door or the scratching sound of claws upon the stone and wood of the floor.

He finally turned in time to see a large black bear rear up just inside the door, many wounds visible through its thick fur but the look of parental fury in its eyes as it gazed at Harry merely reinforced the sinking feeling in his stomach as another whispered Observe sent it's way gave him the information that he needed to sum up his feelings.

"Ah, shit..."

**Werekin bearcast: Level 5**

**hp:?**

**mp:?**

"**We were outnumbered more than 5 to 1, with many of our traitorous allies having forsaken their oaths and joined the enemy in their bid to annihilate my clan. The chief was not worried however, even as we arrayed ourselves on the battlefield at the dawns light. With the light came the view of a group of wildmen, from the clan that the chief and his ancestors let stay in our forests for many, many moons. The chief announced them our saviours, even though there were barely enough men there to form a decent shield wall and they seemed to carry no weapons. Without any warning the men turned to the enemy and charged, to what I thought was their certain doom. Then they began to change and I realised the truth behind our chief's words, after all, with the fabled Berserkers of legend on our side how could we lose?"**

**When the Werekin grow there are several different reported ways in which their abilities stabilise. The bearcast are well known even back to the time of the Vikings who honoured and feared them in equal measure for their ferocity and relentless fighting prowess. Whilst some of the other Werekin walk around and act as humans most of the time, the bearcast live in their bear forms and are either incapable/unwilling to take human form for any prolonged period of time. It is very difficult to calm a bearcast if it has been angered or injured as its feral instincts take to the fore, meaning that in most encounters only one side will walk away...**

Next time he heard a girl crying Harry thought to himself as the bear roared even as he backed away slowly from it, he was just going to stay the hell away. Sometimes being the nice guy just really wasn't worth it...


End file.
